Goalkeepers' union time... I take his point about ignorance - any time I criticise a keeper a voice inside reminds me I know next to nothing about the reality of that role, and I do think super slo-mo replays, as with those of fouls/dives, lures us into a timeless world in which all kinds of things 'could' happen that wouldn't happen in the nano second of reality in which the real action takes place. (Gary Neville's occasional goalkeeping 'master classes' on Sky are particularly risible.) Then again, we surely all know what a truly awful goalkeeping performance is, and we saw that with our own eyes on Saturday.
By
Mark Schwarzer For The Daily Mail
PUBLISHED: 22:33, 28 January 2018 | UPDATED: 10:39, 29 January 2018
Goalkeepers are easy to blame. It is simple to point the finger at the last line of defence, even for former professionals who are now pundits.
I am happy for people to be critical, to give an opinion — I do it myself on TV and radio — but more often than not I find the assessments of goalkeeping, a specialist position, are cheap throw-aways or inaccurate.
Last season’s Champions League final was a prime example. Mario Mandzukic scored for Juventus with a shot that went over Real Madrid goalkeeper Keylor Navas. In the TV studio, two respected former internationals said Navas had been showing off — rather than prioritising the save — by going for the ball with his top hand.
I was baffled by their lack of understanding. There is a logical biomechanical reason goalkeepers reach for the ball like that. When diving, at a certain height and body position, you can reach further with your top hand.
Yet the guys in the studio said Navas had been show-boating. That is lame and if you do not know some of the basic technical elements of goalkeeping, then it is best not to comment.
I am not the oracle on football but some of the punditry on my position is bemusing.
I have found that if one person says something about a keeper, the others tend to agree rather than challenge. The tendency is to go with the opinion on the table rather than form their own.
Liverpool’s Simon Mignolet has been this season’s whipping boy. He has made mistakes — just as I did numerous times during my 22-year career. But a lot of the time he is unfairly criticised.
People do not recognise when he plays well because it does not fit the story. When Liverpool were very close to winning the league in 2013-14, Mignolet was a key man. Now people are jumping on the bandwagon and, instead of analysing the goals that Liverpool concede, the stock comment is that they will never win the title because he is not good enough.
That is unfair. You expect it from people on social media, but not former players.
Liverpool are a very attack-minded team but when it breaks down there is little cover from the three, four or even five men who have joined the attack.
There are times when Mignolet could have played better but nobody points out that any goalkeeper is going to be put under extreme pressure because of the system the team play.
At the other extreme, this season has been a David de Gea love-in. One person says he is world-class and everyone nods their heads without any analysis.
David is a very good goalkeeper. He is world-class with his reflexes and makes exceptional saves but, when you break it down, I do not think he is the best because of two other areas of a goalkeeper’s game: dominating the 18-yard box and sweeping up behind the defence. He is good with the ball at his feet but I do not think he uses it enough.
By a small margin, Manuel Neuer is the best because he is the complete keeper. He is exceptional on his line, brilliant at dominating his penalty area and awesome at playing a high line.
But you rarely hear a discussion with the same level of expertise as when pundits talk about Kevin De Bruyne or Mo Salah. Too often, the viewer would switch off the TV thinking De Gea was the best in the world and Mignolet the worst. Neither is true.
I have had a lot of conversations with pundits after we have gone off-air. On-air, they have an opinion which can be quite scathing of goalkeeping. Then afterwards they will say, ‘You know better than me, I’ve got no clue really.’
I can see why both Liverpool keepers — Mignolet and Loris Karius — have been miffed at their treatment. Criticism is something you accept and expect as a goalkeeper, it is the nature of the role, but not when it is vicious, disrespectful and has an agenda.Particularly when it is from former players you know would not have been able to handle that kind of criticism themselves.
A lot of pundits want a response and the publicity. It is ironic that if a goalkeeper does not attempt to reach a shot, he is almost let off. The view will be: ‘He had no chance’. Yet if he does well to get a decent hand on it, they will say he should have saved it! That cannot be right and underlines a lack of expertise on the position.
I do not get it. Maybe it is just a case of ‘goalkeepers are different’ and the position is misunderstood.
